Austria Protests Doping Test Eve of Olympic Race

The Austrian Olympic Committee has filed a complaint with the IOC after Alpine skier Elisabeth Goergl was drug-tested the night before the women's downhill at the Sochi Games.

The Austrian committee said doping officials visited the 2010 bronze medalist at 10:55 p.m. local time for an unannounced test, and it interrupted her preparations.

Trailing winners Tina Maze and Dominique Gisin by 1.25 seconds, Goergl finished 16th in the race that started at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

"At 11 last night the doping officials were with me," Goergl told Austrian TV. "I think that's not very fair. I told them it's not OK what they were doing."

In an e-mail statement sent to The Associated Press, the IOC said the test has been carried out "within the IOC rules and in accordance with the WADA International Standard for Testing."

The IOC announced before the Olympics it was planning to carry out 2,453 tests during the Sochi Games, including 1,269 pre-competition controls.

"As part of its testing programme here in Sochi, all Olympic athletes can be tested at any time - this usually happens between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.," the IOC said.

The Austrian committee said it supports "the fight against doping 100 percent."

"But this late test, on the night before the race, definitely goes too far," said Wolfgang Schobersberger, the head of the AOC medical team in Sochi. "This incident surely has disturbed Elisabeth in her race preparation."

Goergl was among the favorites for a medal in Wednesday's race. A month ago in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Goergl became the first Austrian woman in two years to win a World Cup downhill.

Goergl also won Olympic bronze in giant slalom in Vancouver in 2010, and added world titles in both downhill and super-G the next year.